Mr Madders, 52, lived with his family in Bridgeview, Poolewe, Ross-shire, close to Loch Maree.

A Northern Constabulary spokesman said a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal but Ms Cain will not be making a statement about the deaths.

He said that she has asked "that the media allow her to grieve in peace and respect her privacy".

Dr Madders, who is understood to be from the south of England, was an expert on raptors, having studied peregrines in Cumbria and eagles in Scotland.

He was instrumental in the successful reintroduction of white-tailed eagles during the 1980 and has worked for a series of wildlife organisations, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Scottish Natural Heritage.

In recent years the 52-year-old specialised in devising field and analytical techniques to measure the responses of birds to wind farm developments.

He wrote more than 100 papers on the subject and been called as an expert witness at a series of public inquiries into planning applications.

Dr Madders was also a director of Natural Research, a wildlife research charity based in Banchory, Aberdeenshire.

He and his son had gone out at about noon on Sunday at Tollie Bay near Poolewe in Ross-shire.

When they failed to return, Ms Cain searched the shore and found their overturned canoe.

The pair were found alive by a coastguard rescue helicopter and airlifted to the Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway, where they were pronounced dead.

Coastguard officials said it was not immediately clear why the pair had got into difficulty but said the area had been hit by several hours of driving rain.

However, coastguards speculated that their canoe had overturned thanks to a "freak wind".

Loch Maree is the fourth largest freshwater loch in Scotland and has a surface area of 11 square miles.

A spokesman for Inverewe Gardens, Wester Ross, where Ms Cain works, said: "We are all extremely sad for her. It has been very upsetting for everyone."